The Exquisite Risk: Daring to Live an Authentic Life

The Exquisite Risk: Daring to Live an Authentic Life - Paperback

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The Exquisite Risk: Daring to Live an Authentic Life

The Exquisite Risk: Daring to Live an Authentic Life - Paperback

$19.00
Sale price  $19.00 Regular price 

Book Overview

by Mark Nepo (Author)

This stunning meditation from the renowned author of The Book of Awakening offers a fresh perspective on the art of being alive and provides essential insight into how we can overcome the barriers holding us back from living life to its fullest.

"Once again, Mark Nepo draws us to the heart of what matters. He illuminates love with the light of his own understanding."--Marianne Williamson

How can we stay awake and authentic when our wounds make us numb and hidden? How can we minimize what stands between us and our experience of life? How can we make a practice of wearing down what thickens around our mind and heart?

In these fast-paced times, the exquisite risk facing each of us every day is to slow down so that we may experience life rather than simply manage it. In The Exquisite Risk, poet and teacher Mark Nepo encourages us to become quiet enough and open enough to listen to what truly matters--our own hearts, our loved ones, the wonders of nature--in order to live a life with nothing held back.

In moving, thoughtful prose, Nepo bravely demonstrates the vulnerability he urges us all to practice, sharing the development of his own spiritual path and how his battle with a rare type of cancer transformed his perspective on himself, his connections to others, and the world around him. Along with personal anecdotes, Nepo pulls wisdom from ancient teachings to explore the importance of staying present and mindful in the face of life's myriad challenges and concludes that only by daring to embrace all that life has to offer--good and bad--can we come to a deeper appreciation of its meaning and beauty.

Front Jacket

In these fast-paced times, the exquisite risk facing each of us every day is to slow down and "still our own house" so that we may experience life rather than simply manage it. In "The Exquisite Risk, poet and teacher Mark Nepo encourages readers to become quiet enough and open enough to listen to what truly matters--our own hearts, our loved ones, the wonders of nature--in order to live a life with nothing held back. In rich, lyrical prose, Nepo shares his own spiritual path, including a battle with illness that helped him understand how only by daring to embrace all that life has to offer can we come to a deeper appreciation of its meaning and beauty.
In the spirit of works by Deepak Chopra and Ram Dass, "The Exquisite Risk unfolds in chapters like "The Struggle to Be Real," "There Are Teachers Everywhere," "The Rhythm of Kindness," and "The Gift of Surprise," offering fresh perspective on the art of being alive and providing essential insight into how we can minimize what stands between us and our experience of life.

"From the Hardcover edition.

Author Biography

Mark Nepo, a member of Oprah's SuperSoul 100, is a poet and philosopher who has taught in the fields of poetry and spirituality for forty years. A New York Times #1 bestselling author, he has published fourteen books and recorded eight audio projects. His work includes Reduced to Joy, Seven Thousand Ways to Listen, and As Far as the Heart Can See, and has been translated into more than twenty languages. Mark has appeared with Oprah Winfrey on her Super Soul Sunday program on OWN TV, and has also been interviewed by Robin Roberts on Good Morning America.

Number of Pages: 304
Dimensions: 0.8 x 8 x 5.2 IN
Publication Date: February 28, 2006
ISBN9780307335845
Author Mark Nepo
PublisherHarmony/Rodale/Convergent
GenreSelf-help & personal development
FormatPaperback
PublishedFebruary 2006
LanguageENG- English
Pages304
Weight1.0 lb
Target AudienceAdults
Print SizeStandard Print

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About Mark Nepo

Mark Nepo is a poet and spiritual teacher who has taught in the fields of poetry and spirituality for over 50 years. With over a million copies sold, Mark has moved and inspired readers and seekers all over the world with his #1 New York Times bestseller The Book of Awakening. A beloved poet, teacher, and storyteller, Mark has been called "one of the finest spiritual guides of our time," "a consummate storyteller," and "an eloquent spiritual teacher." His work is widely accessible and his books have been translated into more than twenty languages. A bestselling-author, Mark has published twenty-six books and recorded fifteen audio projects. His newest book, The Fifth Season: Creativity in the Second Half of Life (St. Martin's Essentials, July 2025) celebrates living from the inside of the one life we're given. Other recent books include You Don't Have to Do It Alone: The Power of Friendship (St. Martin's Essentials, July 2024), which explores the value of community, offering a joyous affirmation of one of the most important aspects of being human: friendship; Falling Down and Getting Up (St. Martin's Essentials, September 2023); The Half-Life of Angels: Three Books of Poems (Freefall Books, April 2023), which earned a Gold Nautilus Award for Poetry; Surviving Storms: Finding the Strength to Meet Adversity (St. Martin's. Essentials, 2022); The Book of Soul (St. Martin's Essentials, 2020), which was honored by Spirituality & Practice as one of the Best Spiritual Books of 2020, and received a Gold Nautilus Award; Drinking from the River of Light (Sounds True, 2019), earned an Independent Publisher Book Silver Award for Self Help 2020, and a 2019 Nautilus Silver Award for Personal Growth & Self Help; and More Together Than Alone (Atria, 2018) cited by Spirituality & Practice as one of the Best Spiritual Books of 2018. In 2015 Mark was given a Life-Achievement Award by AgeNation; in 2016 he was named by Watkins: Mind Body Spirit as one of the 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People, and was also chosen as one of OWN's SuperSoul 100, a group of inspired leaders using their gifts and voices to elevate humanity. Mark appeared several times with Oprah on her Super Soul Sunday program on OWN TV, and was part of Oprah's The Life You Want tour in 2014. He has also been interviewed by Robin Roberts on Good Morning America. In his thirties Mark was diagnosed with a rare form of lymphoma, a struggle which helped to form his philosophy of experiencing life fully while staying in relationship to an unknowable future. Mark devotes his writing and teaching to the journey of inner transformation and the life of relationship. He continues to offer readings, lectures, and retreats. He is represented by William Morris Endeavor Entertainment.

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